Stranger Things Season 3: 5 Massively Missed Opportunities

While the main antagonist of Stranger Things will always be some kind of slimy monster from the Upside Down, the success of the Dr. Brenner character in the first season proved that it can effectively pull off a human antagonist at the same time. Sadly, that was not the case with Season 3.

While the idea of the Russians being behind Hawkins' third run-in with the supernatural terror on the other side of the gate was highly intriguing, not a single human villain proved to be anything other than a one-dimensional caricature.

There were a ton of officers who liked to crack jokes with their prey and smoke big cigars. There was the corrupt mayor of Hawkins that really didn't do actor Cary Elwes justice. And then, out front and center, you had Grigori - the Russian-hired hitman who was literally designed as a walking, no-talking Terminator Easter Egg.

This was the Duffer Brothers' chance to give us another well-oiled human monster with a purpose, and instead we got the world's most convincing Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, a ton of cartoonish characters and predictably sleazy politicians - none of whom could come up with a remotely compelling motivation for doing what they did.